Life from Steele to Grey
by missyloves2read
Summary: Sequel to A different shade of Steele.
1. Chapter 1

**_Life from Steele to Grey_**

**Missy's notes**: _Surprise!_ I wanted to finish the prequel before even thinking of writing the outline of this story but, inspiration hit me one day, so here it is… the sequel (yay!). I hope you like it. If you've been following my fanfic stories – _thank you_ so much for your support and patience. You are the reason why I'm still writing. If you're new to the fanfic and have stumbled upon this story, first of all – thanks for even bothering to click on my story, I hope you like it and, I suggest to read either _A different shade of Steele _or _Forging the new Steele_ first continuing on this one. Either way, here's a little refresher.

**Recap:** this story is the sequel to my very first fan-fic: _'A different shade of Steele.' _It is a _what-if _type of story where Ana signs Christian's contract, becomes just another submissive who wanted more and Christian never lost his control (or so we thought). In ADSoS, Ana got her heart broken by Christian after that faithful night where she professed her love to him, only to get rejected. Heartbroken, she left Seattle and went off to her personal odyssey and met an old woman named Sara Norwood, who, later made a profound impact on her life. Sara saw potential in her and groomed her to be her successor and a strong independent woman. She took over the Norwood House after Sara's death where she became the successful owner of the fastest rising media & publishing company on Europe.

E L James owns this amazing trilogy

**Chapter 1: Steele-Grey**

_Chaotic… very chaotic!_ Ana thinks, as she watches the rest of her team leave after the meeting. It's almost the end of the work-day and she can't wait to go home and relax. For the past two weeks, since the word got out that she's been spotted sporting the über Flashy engagement ring from her fiancé, Christian Grey, her life and work has been anything but calm and peaceful. Her usually quiet and productive work routine that used to only include; new projects, accounting, logistics and status reports, now includes PR and security briefings. She normally wouldn't complain as she is, after all, in the media and publishing industry, but her engagement to one of the business world's most eligible (not to mention edible) and rich bachelors has made quite an impact on her private life. Ever since the she was spotted wearing the engagement ring in New York, the media and paparazzi, or "sharks", as Christian likes to call them, have been all over the place, following their every move. The media networks and tabloids spread the pictures through articles and even news reports about the two of them. The media has speculated on everything from the details of their upcoming wedding, to the price of her engagement ring, to interviews with her ex's (Rupert Kent, who's her long-time friend and business associate, after they decided that they were better off as friends, was tight lipped while Henry Carlisle, the very first man she _dated_ after Christian, was all too willing to provide a short sweet statement congratulating her and the irate Christian), to the effect of their marriage on the business world, to the details of any prenuptial agreements, and the worst one is the never ending speculations about her pregnancy. '_Gah! Just ignore them',_ her inner goddess huffs while her subconscious says, _It goes with the territory Steele; you said yes._ Both hers and Christian's PR team have begged them to at least release a statement. Christian doesn't mind; in fact, she can tell that the idea of telling the world that she's officially off limits is appealing and she wouldn't mind it except for the fact that they both are private individuals, not politicians or entertainers. She doesn't understand why people would even bother.

She takes a deep breath and walks towards her favorite spot by the window, overlooking the clear night sky of her adopted city of London; the place that gave her refuge and a fresh start all those years ago, thanks to her mentor and friend, Sara Norwood. She can't help but recall all that had happened almost seven years since that night… _Do you really have to go there? _Her subconscious mutters dryly, while her inner goddess adds, '_It's the past, Steele. Remember what Dr. Flynn always says_.' She rolls her eyes at the irony. A few months ago, she only had one nagging voice in her head, and then her frequent encounters with one Christian Grey had woken another nagging voice, one that had disappeared since that night, all those years ago. At first there was a lot of tension between the two and now, both her inner goddess and subconscious are finishing each other's' sentence. Who knew this would happen? From stumbling into a hot rich and powerful mega-zillionaire's office, to falling, submitting and getting her heart… mangled – the words and the memories still make her wince, but she shakes her head to get rid of them and continue – to leaving Seattle and embark to her own personal odyssey, to meeting and following the old hag in London, to living and staying with the said hag who taught her so much, to losing the hag and reluctantly taking over her business and succeeding, all the while, hating herself and the man who broke her heart and now… second chances, baby steps and now engagement… to the same man who once broke her into pieces, how… strange. She shakes her head again and smiles wryly, what did she ever do for her to deserve everything that she has right now?

The ringing of her phone once again interrupts her musing. Reluctantly, she leaves the beautiful view to check who could be calling. She chuckles, more irony as the phone reveals that it's her best friend calling, who should be blissfully unaware of anything but the Mediterranean beach villa where she is currently staying with her husband. Kate and Elliot were traveling when Christian proposed. She emailed and left her best friend a voice mail as she didn't want to bother the newly married couple. Smiling, she accepts the call and says, "How's St. Tropez?"

"Oh my God! Steele, you're engaged!" Kate screeches, making Ana grimace and move the phone away from her ear. "I can't believe you didn't tell me and we had to find out from the news!"

"Last time I checked, I've been engaged for a couple of weeks now. Hold your horses Kate; I left you messages. Not my fault you didn't check your phone," Ana shoots back. Giggling at the sound of Elliot's hoots of laughter in the background, she adds, "Send my regards and thanks to your Hubby for me."

"What? Stupid network, I didn't get anything!" Kate grumbles, after a moment.

"That explains why you didn't call. It's okay, Kate, you guys are on your honeymoon after all. You shouldn't do anything but enjoy the view, the food and each other's company, right? Did you like the villa?" Ana says, adding the last question as a distraction.

"Good point. I know what you're doing, Steele! Yes, your villa was awesome; Elliot loved it… a lot. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm hurt. I am, after all, you sister/best friend. You should've called and called till you reached me."

"Technically my future sister-in-law and maid of honor," Ana counters, again as a distraction, though it's true; Kate will be her sister-in-law and, big wedding or not, Kate will be her maid of honor. "You're right and I'm sorry, Kate, it's just… well you saw the news; it's all over the place. It's irritating," Ana adds, sighing in frustration. This distraction works as Kate lets out another squeal that makes Ana wince.

"Oh my gosh! You're damn right! You're on, Steele." Kate says, in excitement and adds, "As for your other issue, you and I both know that the hounding will only stop if you release a statement, and I, as your future sister-in-law, am willing to step up and perform that duty for you and Moneybags."

"I'm not a Kardashian, Kate. My private life is completely off limits," Ana says, exasperatedly, rolling her eyes.

Kate laughs and says, "Well Steele, that's the only way to end all this, unless of course you acquire all those media companies."

"Trust me, I considered it," Ana adds, dryly. "Can we please change the subject? How's your honeymoon so far?" she adds, "you guys having fun?"

"Great! We're having a blast. You know: eat, walk around, sex, sleep, more sex," Kate says, cackling as Ana makes a gagging sound.

"Ew! TMI Kate. TMI," Ana says, dryly.

"Well you wanted to know so… anyways, Cannes was awesome though not that sunny, San Tropez is… wow. Just wow. Next stop is Greece and we can't wait" Kate says, excitedly. "Enough about my honeymoon, Steele, tell me: did you set the date yet? What about all those rumors, I'm sure you're not preggers so we can rule that out, what about the prenup thing? Are GEH and N&S, you know, merging… are you changing your name to Ana Grey? Gosh, I hope you don't"

"Gosh, Kavanagh, it's like TMZ on steroids," Ana says, exasperated. She is about to answer when she hears the door open. She doesn't need to turn around to see who her visitor is; for one thing, she could see his perfect reflection in the windows and two, it sounds weird, but she felt his presence long before he opened the door. With the phone still to her ear, she turns to face this beautiful specimen of a man behind her; beautiful grey eyes watching her so lovingly that she can't help but blush, even as she returns the loving smile, she can't help but bite her lower lip at the sight of her gorgeous man,.

* * *

_Grey, you are one lucky son of a bitch_, Christian thinks as he stands on the open threshold of his fiancé's office in London. He stands rooted in position, his hands holding the door knob, just admiring the view. The beautiful view of his breathtakingly beautiful fiancé, who is standing by the window, overlooking the London night sky, right where Alex said she would be. The sight of her, even with her back towards him, as she talks to whomever is on the phone while she stares at the view around her, is a sight to behold; enough to take the stress away. _Very flowery, Grey. _They've been through a lot – scratch that – he'd been through _hell _without her. Six years of hell; six years of ignorance and stupidity, all because he refused to look, to acknowledge that he felt something for her. That she was, is, and will always be, special. Anastasia is his "more"; his... everything. One hell of a clusterfuck cost him six years away from her and even though he fucked up, so many times, and on many different occasions, she is still here, willing to give him a second chance. 

"Gosh, Kavanagh, it's like TMZ on steroids," she says, as she turns to finally face him; her guileless blue eyes meeting his. She has that captivating smile followed by teeth biting down on that luscious bottom lip that never fails to arouse him. He can't help but smile back. _Yeah, I'm a lucky SOB, _he tells himself. Lucky to have someone like her to give a fucked-up person like him a second shot, even luckier that she agreed to marry him soon… real soon. He wouldn't mind dragging her to Vegas or to the nearest church and have a reverend administer the vows and get it over with but, he wants everyone to see, to witness that they are officially one; that she is his and he is hers. He wants the fuckers like Henry Carlisle to know that she is off-fucking-limits, and more importantly, he wants everyone to know that she will now be, officially, Mrs. Anastasia Rose Grey or Mrs. Grey. He can't help an ear splitting smile. The thought alone, that they will soon officially belong to each other, is heaven; bliss.

"No Kate, we haven't finalized it yet," she says, rolling her eyes exasperatedly. He saunters towards her as she continues to talk to her best friend, who should be on her honeymoon rather than nagging Ana for details that frankly aren't any of her business. "We'll talk about it in Seattle when you get back… no…" she says, as he leans in to kiss her affectionately, his hands leisurely skimming to her behind. She yelps when he gives her a playful smack. "Well, for starters, I have lots of work waiting here and then Christian wants to move to the new property instead of Escala. It'll be done in a week or two, I think… yeah, that's the plan, I'll stay with him while the other house is getting prepped… nope. Haven't finalized what to do with that one…" she adds, with a giggle and adds, "Yeah, see you soon and have fun in Greece," she says, finally finishing and removing the phone from her ear, her beautiful blue eyes not leaving his.

"Hi," He finally says, nuzzling her neck, drinking in her delicious scent.

"Mr. Grey, what a pleasant surprise," she responds, breathlessly. Christian smiles, thankful he still has that effect of her.

"Couldn't help it baby, I've missed you," Christian says, distractedly. "How's Katherine?"

"Blissfully happy, I think… She just found out that she didn't get any of my messages and she only found out about our engagement when Elliot decided to watch TV," she giggles while he snorted. "She wants us to release a statement about it; you know, to stop the whole debacle…"

"Let me guess: she wants to cover it," he says, dryly, rolling his eyes.

"It's your fault, Mr. Grey, you started it…" she teases.

"I know baby and frankly, I don't mind… we can always grant one interview or release a statement, if you change your mind," he says, smirking at the horrified look on his fiancé's face. "Like I said, it's up to you, baby. What else did Katherine say?"

She wrinkles her nose adorably and says, "Let's see… she told me about her honeymoon which is full of TMI's. She's asking about the wedding details, which of course we haven't finalized. Though she is officially maid of honor and then she asked about the rumors; you know, the works," she says, mumbling the words distractedly.

"What rumors? There's so many, I forgot to keep tabs," he says, smirking as she rolls her eyes.

"Pregnancy stuff…" she says, dryly.

"Right. How far along are you?" he chuckles, trying to keep a straight face.

"Very funny, Grey," she responds, sardonically, making him laugh harder.

"I wish it were true, but not yet… I'm not ready to share you with anyone and it's irresponsible to get you knocked up without getting married first. What else did she say?"

"Wedding details. I told her we haven't set –"

"As soon as possible," he says cutting her off. She raises one delicate eyebrow.

"Not a long engagement?"

"I waited more than six years, Ms. Steele, I think I waited long enough, any more than that will make me explode, don't you agree?" he says, holding her close.

"I see your point, Mr. Grey, though I like it when you explode on me, if you know what I mean," she says, crinkling her nose sweetly.

He laughs and grabs her behind once again and says, "I like that too. A lot, actually. In fact, I'd be all too willing to demonstrate, if you like," his hand playfully pulling her dress upwards, revealing her garters.

"Tempting, but not tonight and certainly not here, Mr. Grey, we don't want to scare my team out," she says, admonishingly.

"Alright. Rain check it is. What else did she say?"

"Prenup," she says, thoughtfully

"Not happening," he snaps. He's thought about it of course; about whether or not they should have a prenup. He knows that a lot is at stake with both their companies and careers combined, but in the end, he decided that he wants to share his life – everything he has with her – and no amount of money or properties will compensate for how he will feel if he screws up and she ends up leaving, again. He doesn't want to even think about it nor would he let her out of his life ever again. He's in it for life. Prenup is not happening.

"But –" she starts

"Ana, we already discussed this. No. I don't want a fucking prenup. I already lost you once, if I fuck up and lose you again, you may as well take everything," he says, momentarily losing his temper. "Look, if you want a prenup, I'll sign it."

"The prenup is for you Christian; you have more than I do. I don't need it. I just… well, I just thought,"

"You're right. I have more, because I have you," he lovingly murmurs.

"Very flowery, Mr. Grey," she says, failing to hide her smile. "I won't mention the prenup thing again. Don't be mad at me, please?" she says, apologetically, kissing him.

"Good. Next topic?" he says after a moment.

"Err… business stuff; Kate wants to know if GEH and N&S are merging," she says, a little apprehensive. There's a pause; a penny drops as both just stared at each other. On one thought, he knows the N&S means a lot to her; not because of its success but because of its founder, Sara Norwood.

He clears his throat and says, "Would you like to?"

"N&S has a reputation…" she stammers,

"I know, it has the same reputation as GEH, I believe. GEH don't do mergers, it only acquires," he says, proudly.

"I know, it's the same as N&S, but I have different reasons."

"Oh?"

"When I started, it was just Norwood Publishing House. It should have been the biggest house in Europe but Sara made some… decisions. You know… when she was young and inexperienced. She merged with a company that ended up absorbing and overthrowing her. She learned from it and she decided to start over. This time, she didn't let anyone in. That is one of the main reasons why N&S only does acquisitions. That reason is why, when Sara died and left the house to me, I vowed never to change the name because of her; for her and her family's legacy. When it started to blossom, I was asked to change it to Steele Publishing since I'm technically president and CEO. I didn't want to, so I added my name instead. But even that is absurd, completely ridiculous if you ask me. I only thought of myself as a caretaker and I never saw myself or my name next to hers but, Alex convinced me that it was the right thing to do and that it's something that we both shared… it's one of the many things that bonded us. Do you see my point? I just… it's something that I share with Sara. I hope you understand," She finishes, apologetically.

"Shh, baby, I understand. Trust me, as tempting as it is to work with you, I didn't think you'd want to, and it's all good."

"Yeah, seeing you every day is tempting but I think it's better to keep work separate," she says, visibly relaxing at his reassurance.

"My thoughts exactly," he smiles. "Anything else?"

She thought for a moment, remembers something and then says, "Oh yes, there's that _are-you-changing-your-last name-to Grey_ thing," dismissively, apprehensively. Another penny drops as they both stare at each other in silence. Changing her name means the world to him; it signifies that she belongs to him. The atmosphere between them is apprehensive; awkward. He already sensed her discomfort or apprehension on the subject of merging their companies and is glad that they got over the hump, apparently there is more.

"And…?" he hears himself say, impatiently.

"Do you want me to?" she responds, dubiously. _Abso-fucking-lutely, I want the world to know that you are mine, baby. _

"I want everyone to call you Mrs. Grey, yes. And I want the world to know that you are mine," he says, seriously. She swallows and takes a deep breath, the impassive look on her face nudging him towards panic. He waits for her to respond, but she doesn't; she stays rooted in place, just looking, searching his face. _Shit!_ He thinks, as the panic begins to rise to what feels like a full-blown panic attack. He takes a deep steadying breath, urging himself keep it together as he finally says, "You don't want to?"

"No. I just… if I change my name to Grey then that means I have to change the company name to Norwood & Grey, I don't want the hag rising up from her grave to beat me shitless. It all goes back to what me and Sara share, Christian," she says, imploringly.

"So you're keeping your name because of that old… woman?" he says, disbelievingly, unable to say the word "hag". What is it with that old woman? She's dead for crying out loud!

"I am here; I am who I am because of Sara. Yes I'm keeping my name and I'm also taking yours. I… I just have other plans in mind," she mumbles, chewing her bottom lips.

"What?"

"Christian, I can't just leave who I am and be Mrs. Grey, Christian. It like me… six years ago, bowing and following on your every word. And yes, you heard me. I'm keeping my name and I'll add yours. Compromise, remember?" she says, matter-of-factly, blue eyes blazing with determination.

"So, you'll be what? Anastasia Steele-Grey?" he says, dryly, still angry.

"Anastasia Steele-Grey, officially, to everyone," she agrees, smiling and bites her lips as she leans closer. "But, I won't mind being called Mrs. Grey."


	2. A fine frenzy

**Missy's notes:** **_THANK YOU_** guys for the warm reception of this story! Your reviews, follows, favorites and private messages, all made my utterly funk-filled days bearable. I'm so sorry for the delay. those who do read my notes know that the first chapter was a product of me trying to cheer myself from writing Sara's death in the prequel and as I said, I've had one hell of a writer's funk since God knows when (I'm blaming real life and work for all the stress). I would like to thank Pink and Lily Allen for coming up with the song that is simply the inspiration of this chapter. I do hope you'll enjoy this one as much as I did writing it and please forgive my errors. Happy reading!

E L James owns this amazing trilogy

**Chapter 2: A fine frenzy**

"See? He's not even letting me finish..." Ana points out to Dr. Flynn, when Christian tries to say something. Christian, on the other hand, rolls his eyes, swears royally and shoves one hand through his tousled copper hair, in utter exasperation. It's the first time the couple have met with him since the holidays and the news about their engagement breaking. It didn't surprise John Flynn when the news about his long-time client (albeit on and off), Christian Grey, being engaged to Anastasia Steele. If anything, he saw it coming. Upon securing his second chance at love, the good doctor realized that it would only be a matter of time until the inevitable would happen; one of the many things that his client isn't known for is his patience. The man doesn't wait. Christian started telling him about wanting to spend the rest of his life with the girl sitting in front of him. Anastasia Steele, the media world's Lady Midas shortly after they got together. Of course, Flynn advised him to take his time, take baby steps, to try to not overwhelm Ana, which worked for a few months – he still can't believe his client actually listened – but never the less; John Flynn considered it to be progress.

"Alright, I've seen and heard enough," the good doctor announces, making them both stop; with Ana pursing her lips, while Christian shoots the good doctor his death glare. "I think it's best to talk to the two of you separately for two reasons, one, to allow things to calm down between the two of you, and two, to get each of your perspectives on this issue at hand."

They both nod in agreement, looking like kids being scolded by a teacher, though they are anything but. Rather, they are two of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world and together they make one hell of a power couple. Christian Grey may be a teenager trapped in a man's body; but not Ana. She possesses maturity and independence beyond her years, but loving Christian Grey can sometimes drive even the sanest of sane person a bit mad.

"Lady's first," Christian mutters, already on his feet, yet before he leaves, he quickly reaches down to kiss her forehead, while she simply sighs and closes her eyes, relishing the moment before giving him a look that simply says, _I hate and love you at the same time_. The exchange only takes a few seconds, yet the good doctor is struck by the significance of the simple, yet powerful gesture, he just witnessed. The doctor waits until the door is shut and it's just him and woman who managed to bring about so much change in a rather difficult and closed-off person by simply loving him.

"I'm sorry about that, Dr. Flynn," she says apologetically.

"No need, Ana, now, feel free to talk."

"Well… where to start?" she says, taking a deep breathe while massaging her temple. "I want to keep the name Steele, mainly for business and he's not very happy about that. He thinks it's completely ridiculous to keep my name simply because I don't want to change my company to Norwood and Grey. I … I just don't want to change the business name, that's all. Norwood and Steele is something that I shared with Sara. I've worked so hard and I know I'm not anywhere near his success. I want to be successful in my own right, earn the success because I worked hard for it, not because of the Grey name."

"Have you told him that?"

"I tried, John, but nothing matters when he starts to sulk. I thought everything went well, the first time we talked about it. I mean, what the hell is wrong with Steele-Grey?"

"Nothing's wrong with the name per se, Ana. The issue is how Christian sees this. You have to understand: he is not used to independence. He is used to people depending on him. He is used to getting what he wants, no questions asked, and most importantly, this is his very first relationship, therefore—"

"He is still adjusting, I know. He's been good on compromising and all, but this one… it's different. I mean, he tries to act cool but when the subject comes up or when he remembers that I don't want to take his name alone… he just… zones out, sulks and it's… also an adjustment for me, John. I am trying to understand him, I really am, but I promised myself that I'm not letting anyone do stuff or order me around anymore, not without compromise. He isn't bending on any of the reasons I point out. I love him; I really do, but sometimes…" she says, taking a sharp, exasperated breath, with her hands making a motion as if she's strangulating something, that makes them both chuckle.

"Touché, Ana. I understand where you're coming from and please know that I am neither on your side nor his. I am your neutral zone; a third party observer and as such, I want to ask you a few things," the good doctor replies, empathetically.

"Go on," she says, after nodding sagely.

"You said you love him and I believe you; but ask yourself these few things: one, you say, you love him but he isn't bending on anything, what about you? What are you prepared to do, for him? Two, if this is the one thing that he wants, what are you prepared to do to make him happy and three, if the situation was reversed, what would you do and how would you feel about him not wanting to throw his name away and take your name?

**~oOo~**

"Well…?" the good doctor says a short time later, this time with his other patient. He's asked his longtime patient, Christian Grey, the same question, only changing a few words. After listening to his rant about the fucked-up world being unfair to him; about loving the only girl who manages to defy him at every turn, and how he's waited for years and years for the said girl and now that he's finally close to getting what he's always hoped and not to mention worked for, more than anything in the world - to spend the rest of his life with the said _stubborn _woman, she refuses to tell the world she's his by only adding his name to hers. She wants to be known as Anastasia Steele-Grey instead of just Anastasia Grey. Since when did the name Grey become secondary?

"What do you want me to say?" he finally mutters, surly and impassively, something the good doctor has long recognized as his way of trying to keep things to himself.

"Nothing, Christian, it is my way making the two of you ponder on everything; this situation in particular. You should know that a relationship is also about communication, compromise and respect. It's not all love. Mind you, you two are doing well, a tiff here and there doesn't make the relationship weak, it only makes it stronger, so don't fret."

"What makes you think I'm worried?" Christian scoffs, dryly.

"Let's see: you lost her for six years and you're affected every time the two of you fight about something. I don't think you want me to enumerate all the times you've sat on that seat, talking to me about why she always leaves. Even just a moment ago, when it was her turn to step outside, you were fighting very hard not to say the words out loud, and let's not forget the fact that she is here because —"

"Fine; I get it."

"Do you?" The doctor prods.

"Oh so, you're on her side now?" Christian barks, petulantly. He really is a teenager, trapped inside a grown man's body, the good doctor thought, curiously.

"Christian, as I already told Anastasia before you, I am neither on your side nor hers; I am the neutral zone, a third party observer, I'm here to listen and point out what the two of you aren't seeing, because you two are both too blind and stubborn to see and listen to each other's point of view. You are sighting the fact that you want to tell the world that the love of your life has agreed to marry you; therefore she needs to take your name, no questions asked. On the other hand, Ana is happy about marrying you and though she would be very proud to take your name, she wants to keep hers as sort of a way of keeping her identity in the business world. She doesn't see why the name, Steele-Grey doesn't sit well with you in public when she is willing to let go of her name and replace it with the name Grey, on paper."

"It's simple Dr. Flynn; I want everyone in the world to know that she belongs to me. No exemption. I want her; all of her, completely."

"Which is why you need to answer or ponder my previous question: if the situation was reversed and Ana wanted you to take her name, would you do it? Are you willing to give up the name Grey and become Mr. Steele?"

* * *

_'I don't mind doing it; I don't fucking mind doing it. If it's something that she wants then I will do it, I'd proudly change my name to Steele,'_ Christian tells himself, while he picks on the food on his plate, completely ignoring the fact that he is sitting in the middle of a crowded dining room table, completely ignoring the flurry of sounds around him. They spent the entire car ride to his parents' house in utter silence; no doubt contemplating or _pondering _what happened during their session with his – or rather – their shrink. And now, they both sit side by side, with him still lost in his thoughts, while she chats with the rest of his family, and listens to stories from the newlyweds, Katherine and his brother, Elliot, who are now back from their Mediterranean honeymoon.

"Sunset in Santorini, Greece… Oh my God Steele, highly recommended. You should think about sailing the Mediterranean for your honeymoon," Kate says, sighing as she takes a sip of her wine.

"Sounds nice; but I think Ana should finalize what she wants for her wedding first, before the honeymoon," Mia says excitedly, turning to face the two of them, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. "So, have you decided on anything?"

Crickets.

_Oh shit,_ where the first words that Christian thought_._ Instinctively, his hand reaches down to find one of hers. He looks up to find her equally dumbfounded expression; only she is biting her bottom lip, no doubt contemplating the right words to tell them.

"Err… we haven't decided on anything," his future wife says, truthfully, rearranging her expression to a polite smile. _Translation: we're still hammering out, whether or not I'll change my name or not, _Christian thought mentally.

"Why not? I mean, did you guys set any dates yet?" Mia proceeds to say.

Crickets… yet again; up until the Steele-Grey conversation, they thought of (well, he wanted a spring wedding and managed to convince her of the idea) having a spring wedding, which would allow a few months to prepare. The plans momentarily flew out of the window, however, when she announced that she plans to keep her name for business purposes. He just couldn't wrap his head around the idea that she wants to keep her name and only add his, even though she and his shrink already emphasized that it's only for work. He wants to tell the world and all the fuckers ogling at her, that she is off the market and that they should go find another woman to ogle. Anastasia is his and the only way to prove it is by changing her name from Steele to Grey.

"Something wrong?" Katherine asks, a brow already rising as her eyes narrow in his general direction. _Christ._

"Nothing. We just haven't decided on anything, yet," she says, turning to face him, their eyes meeting. She smiles that timid smile at him, while he smiles back and raises their hands that had been entwined and seals both hands with a kiss.

"That look says _we should run off to Vegas ASAP_, bro," Elliot chimes, with a laugh.

"No! Not Vegas!" Mia whines, making a gagging sound and says something else, but he is too busy looking at the love of his life to bother telling them that he doesn't give a damn where the wedding takes place. The important thing is he gets to be with the woman staring right back at him, officially. _Oh fuck it! Steele-Grey in business, Mrs. Grey at home, and to the people around them._ Christ! As long as everyone can see the Grey, he'll take it. That's what happens every time they have moments such as these; he forgets about his stubborn and fucked-up head; his fucked up resolve waivers, as fucked up as it sounds and he sees things differently. _Yeah, yeah, she's got you by the balls, Grey._

**~ooOoo~**

"I have to work for a bit," Christian announces awkwardly when they finally get back to his estate later that night. The drive home was quiet, only this time; there was no space between them; no tension. The tension emanating between them while they were at therapy and during the car ride to Bellevue has changed into calmness, following their _moment_. They left the manor holding hands instead of walking side by side. They are both calm, though he can tell they still are struggling with what to say or how to start the conversation. He feels like a complete jerk for acting like a fucking kid when he should be thanking all the saints or whatever for giving him a second chance, for letting him be with someone as great as Anastasia.

"Yeah, me too. I have a call in about 10 minutes," she replies timidly, looking at her watch, which is identical to his.

"Okay."

"I have to go; my things are in the other house," she says, untangling her hand from his.

"No. I'll have someone—" he says, perhaps a little too loud, unable to bear the thought of her walking away from him, even though he knows it's only a few steps away.

"It'll only take about twenty minutes, Christian. You can come over after you work or I'll walk back, here. Either way, I'll go and use my lovely house, which by the way, you gifted to me," she says, a smirk playing along her beautiful face.

"What I'd like to do to that smart mouth of yours," he responds, unable to stop himself as his cock springs to attention. _That smart mouth is fucking arousing_.

"I'm sure there are a lot of things, Mr. Grey," she says, rolling her eyes. "I'll see you in a bit," she adds, reaching up to kiss him, chastely.

"It's not like you'll leave. I'll see you in my study," he teases, while she rolls her eyes, as she turns to leave, her trusted security, Frank, following her covertly. He smiles. The very first thing that Ana noticed when they officially moved into the estate was the pictures. Pictures of her, scattered around the house. The pictures he acquired many years ago from her friend, Jose. Thank fuck for Gail for ignoring his instructions and keeping all the pictures, rather than burning them when he unceremoniously tried to destroy the pieces, after the London incident, ages ago. The love of his life gaped and blushed in utter embarrassment upon seeing the pictures. By the time she saw the last one, she called and almost yelled at her friend, Jose, for not telling her about their existence.

He walked into his study and there she is, smiling happily at him. The essence of the picture never diminished in time. It reminds him of many things; one being, Ana is different and that she deserves more, another is the fucked up lifestyle he lived for so long, and how it fucked him and the love of his life over for years and years. Six years of separation. _You are one_ _lucky son of a bitch, Grey, do not forget that, _he thinks as he sits on his chair and distractedly opens his laptop intending to work, but ultimately, he finds himself on his feet and out the door, racing to find her_._

* * *

"Yesss… oh my God, yes!" Ana hisses, in sheer ecstasy; her eyes rolling to the back of her head; her body arching into a perfect curve. Her incredibly hot fiancé, responds with a growl, but his powerful thrusting doesn't waiver. If anything, each thrust becomes faster and more powerful that the others, sending waves of pulsating pleasure to her core; the sound of their skin slapping together intensifying each sensation like erotic music.

"Yes!" she moans, her hips grinding against him, matching every thrust, unable to control herself.

"Ana… F…" he growls, gritting his teeth at the sensation; as she massages him, from the inside. His thrusts get even faster and the slapping of their skins gets harder and harder.

"Oh my God, yes! Yes, Christian, yes!" she mewls. Feeling her core muscle clench and tighten as she begins to combust into yet another mind-blowing and teeth grinding orgasm.

"Come for me, Ana… _Fuccck!_" He growls, coming himself in such mind-blowing fashion that it leaves both of them gasping for air and utterly spent. Sex in one of her favorite places; the glass house where he proposed; the only room they've christened so far, Ana thought remorsefully as awareness begins to return.

"God, I missed being inside you," he murmurs, pulling back to kiss her lovingly on the lips, then peppering her with feather light kisses on her face and chest after a weeklong fight, or rather, a weeklong sulk and self-imposed sex-strike as the love of his life likes to call it.

"Hmmmm me too," she admits, sighing at the tender way he's holding her. They've had sex every at every opportunity in her house, even at her office in London, but since she callously announced that she plans to keep her maiden name, the sex and her fifty took a few days off… preferring a cold war, rather than talking or reasoning, which she found to be worse than fighting. The man, her man, her fifty, can sulk big time. They fought for a week, well not technically fighting, more like he sulked after she told him that she planned on keeping her maiden name, when they get married.

"I know what you're thinking," he says sheepishly. "I'm sorry for being an ass."

"A stubborn ass; we both are," she corrects him with a wink. "We need to talk."

"Well, I meant to talk but, well… I couldn't help it," he says smiling her favorite, melt your heart shy smile, referring to the fact that he pounced on her the moment he found her inside the special place that held what is probably the most amazing memory they share together.

"Christian, what would you do if the situation was reversed?" she finally asked.

"It doesn't matter, baby," he starts, but she puts one finger on his lips to hush him.

"I want to know,"

Christian smiles, lightly nips her finger, making her yelp and says, "Baby, if it was that important and if it's the one thing that would make you happy, I'd do it."

"Is it that important? Will that make you happy?"

"Yes, it means everything to me," he responds wholeheartedly. "Look, Flynn wants us to compromise, not just to talk and get our sides out in the open without being hostile. What I did is completely silly and irrational –"

"What I did was selfish."

"No baby, I would've done that if that was me. It was your instinct, I don't blame you. What I did was a jerk move," he says completely remorseful.

"Fine; Flynn wins. We both have faults. Where does this take us?" she acquiesces, smiling at the effect his shrink has on both of them, and on him particularly.

"Fucking Flynn," he scoffs and they both laugh.

"There has to be a concession, you're right. It's not fair that you keep on giving in to everything that I want," she says earnestly. '_That's right Ana; if it's the one thing that will make him happy then so be it.'_

"I would do anything that makes you happy, Ana," he responds, cupping her face to his; his gray eyes burning with sincerity.

She practically melts at his words. "Those are lovely words to say, Mr. Grey, but I've made my decision. If it's the one thing that will make you happy, then I'll proudly call myself, Mrs. Grey."

His breathtaking smile let her know that she made the right choice. "Baby, you have no idea. Now what do you want in return?"

"Huh?"

"Tit for tat, baby, remember? Name it; except for a prenup. If you want a prenup, ill sign it but don't expect me to come up with a prenup of my own. Like I said, I want to share everything with you. What is mine is yours."

"Well… I was thinking about the wedding…"

"I don't mind a big wedding; in fact, I welcome it. I can show the world that you're mine," he says happily winking, while she rolls her eyes.

"Thanks, but no thanks, to the big wedding. I was thinking about the vows, actually," she responds, praying that her idea doesn't spoil the mood. The last thing she wants is another fifty sulk fest.

"What about them?"

"I want us to write our own vows,"

"Why?"

"Well there's something about the traditional vows that doesn't really…" she trails, not wanting to offend him but feeling like she must tell him _'that you will never be that girl'_ her subconscious says, finishing the words for her.

"The obeying part… I see," he says after a moment. Closing her eyes, half praying that he's not offended and half suppressing a groan at his pensive reaction. When she opens her eyes, she sees him smiling and shaking his head in what looks like disbelief.

"What?"

"Well it's a lopsided deal, don't you think?"

"I don't know what you mean…" she says after a moment, not knowing what to say.

"It is baby; it's too easy." He says with a triumphant smile. "Ana, well, for starters, I want it clear… the BDSM shit is in the past; it's over. It's behind me, behind us. I want you to promise me one thing: that you will not consider yourself, as one of those… submissives, anymore. You are my more, you are my everything. I want that clear."

"Crystal. Yes, I promise."

"Good. Now, my name over the vows."

"Yes. Provided, you won't tell me to change the Norwood & Steele to Norwood & Grey."

Christian pauses for a moment and then says, "Okay, so the 'no-prenup' thing is final; we are writing our vows, no name change on your business, you are one hell of a negotiator, Ms. Steele, but I'll deal."

"Yes, if you don't want a prenup, then yes. Really? That easy?" she smirks.

"Yes really, I'm getting you. I get to call you Mrs. Grey, that's all that matters."

"Don't forget the vows and N&S."

He laughs throatily.

"What so funny?"

"Baby, I wouldn't think in a million years that you will obey or listen to me or do what I want," he smirks. She looks like she's about to say something but he stops her. "I wasn't talking about the past; about that girl who did what I wanted, when I wanted. Of course I love her, but I love her even more now, even though she's driving me crazy."

"She did warn you about the disappointments."

"That she did," he starts but abruptly stops. "I don't want to wait anymore, Ana; I want to marry you, as soon as possible. I don't care when and where, I want it official. And since you think it's a lopsided deal, well…"

* * *

**More notes from Missy:** The song is called: _True Love_ and if you haven't heard it, YouTube works, or go to my pinterest page, _missylovestoread fanfiction _or ( ) /missyloves2read (please remove the open and close parenthesis on the http: bit), where you'll see boards-full of pictures for each of my stories.


	3. The last hurrah

**Missy's notes: **Thanks for your patience and the never ending support on all my stories. This chapter and the next chapter (Chapter 4) are both inspired by a song; if you're following my pinterest page, I posted the song weeks ago, I hope you like it. I don't want to kill your buzz with spoiler alerts. I do hope that you'll like and enjoy it. Please forgive my errors and lots of thanks to GreytoSteele, for supplying me with a little happy place while writing this.

**E L James owns this amazing trilogy. **

**Chapter 3: The last hurrah**

The dress – check. Her gorgeous dress is hanging gracefully, in the walk-in closet of her equally gorgeous villa. Both her inner goddess and subconscious sigh in utter bliss; what is it about ethereal white dresses? _Oh well_, Ana ponders.

The guests – check. Just family and closest friends; most of them, the Kavanagh's and the Kent's as well as their other friends, having arrived the day earlier; the rest of the guests, her mom, Bob and Ray particularly, will be arriving the next morning.

Wedding preparations – All set, thanks to Grace and Mia's expert planning. Ana doesn't know how they were able to plan the whole thing in just a month, but somehow they managed and for that she is so grateful. Grace, Mia and Carrick have flown into the gorgeous Italian resort, three days ahead of everyone to supervise the final preparation and itineraries for the rehearsal dinner and then... _the_ day.

Nerves – All over the place. _'That will be a lot checks,'_ her subconscious mutters while her inner goddess just rolls her eyes. Ana lets out a sigh and wonders, _is it always like this?_ She's been riding what feels like one hell of a rollercoaster of emotions since the day she tried the first dress, more so since she found _the dress_. Finding the perfect dress made everything real so that each waking day – each day they get closer and closer to _the day_. Quite possibly the biggest and most important day of their lives. And she never felt so nervous, yet excited and jittery; happy – blissfully happy, yet worried; impatient, yet relaxed, and the list goes on and on. _'Moving on,'_ her inner goddess says, waving her hands impatiently.

His and Her bachelor parties – in full swing at the moment. Elliot and Kate were not at all pleased when she and Christian insisted that they didn't want _the usual stuff _for their respective parties. It took a lot of grumbling from both the best man and matron of honor, but in the end, the rowdy couple caved in and settled for a day spent cruising around the magnificent lake, lunch in an Italian restaurant overlooking the water, then the afternoon spent walking around the quaint medieval village of Varenna. The nighttime festivities will be spent divided in two groups: girls and the boys. Kate and Mia prepared a girl's treat in the spa after a long, tiring day. She and the ladies, Arbela, Gwen, Kate, Mia, Maria, Rhian, and Ros, are getting all sorts of relaxation treatments from soaking in milk baths to oil massages, waxing, and getting their nails done, all in preparation for the next two days of festivities.

"You okay, Steele?" asks her best friend, Kate, who's sitting beside her. She, Kate and Rhian, Flynn's wife, are in the lounge area awaiting the rest of the girls, Arabella, Rupert's younger sister, Mia, Maria, Jose's wife, and long-time partners, Gwen and Ros, to finish with their treatments.

"Yeah, I'm good. That was great, Kate, I needed some girl time. Thanks and thanks for coming, I appreciate it," Ana responds earnestly, looking to both her longtime friend and to Rhian, who she only just met but already like because of her friendly and warm demeanor.

"Ana, it's a pleasure; John and I were grateful to be invited," Rhian responds truthfully.

"I'm glad you and John were able to make it, Rhian. I'm glad everyone we invited came, especially on such a short notice."

"Pfft! We're sister-best friends, Steele, and you gave me a second honeymoon, so no worries," Kate winks. "Besides, if you think I'd abandon my responsibilities as your matron of honor, after you failed to tell me that you were getting hitched in a month's time and let's not forget that you didn't bother to ask me to go dress hunting with you, then girlfriend, you are so wrong."

"Sorry. As you said, we only had one month, I was in London and my mom asked Alex to gather the minions in my house, kicked Christian out and turned my room into a mini store, so I could try some dresses. Trust me, nothing momentous," Ana responds apologetically. "Besides, you got to see the dress and you liked it, right?"

"It's beautiful," Kate says, her eyes softening. As a consolation for those who didn't see her actual dress fitting, she had to model the dress in front of her best friend, Mia, Grace and Denise Kavanagh, who all had teary eyes when she emerged from her room.

"Thanks; it is, isn't it? My mom cried when she saw it," Ana says thoughtfully, absentmindedly playing with her massive ring.

"What are you thinking, Ana?" says Rhian, Dr. Flynn's wife asks her from across the room.

"I'm thinking about a lot of things, at least for the next two days," Ana responds, smiling timidly.

"Cold feet?" Rhian prods, winking.

"Ah… there's still time to run away, you know," Kate chimes from beside her, playfully nudging her shoulder, a jab that made her roll her eyes at her matron of honor.

"No, not really, just going over a mental checklist," Ana admits, her face turning into a delicate shade of red.

"Ana, everything's set. All you and Mr. Moneybags have to do, is show up and say your 'I do's'," Kate says dryly, rolling her eyes.

"I know… it's just… well…" Ana stammers.

"So how are you feeling?" Kate and Rhian ask her simultaneously. Both laugh after realizing they said the same thing and after both said something about having great minds, they both turn their attention back to Ana.

"A lot of things…" is all Ana can say, unable to find the right word or name the right emotion as there are so many things going through her mind.

"Hmm… I know the feeling," Rhian says wistfully. "I remember feeling excited yet nervous at the same time."

"Yeah. Excited, nervous, happy, content and annoyed as hell coz Elliot is acting like there's no wedding and was still a total jerk as always, during the rehearsal," Kate adds with a snort.

"Yeah… all of those things and more, except for the irritation; Christian has been surprisingly calm and excited even, about the whole thing," Ana says with a chuckle.

"No hints of doubt or anything? You're not scared are you?" Kate prods.

"No… no doubts. Scared, sure, but I'm more scared that I might trip and embarrass myself. I'm not scared of the whole marriage thing… in fact, I… honestly can't wait," Ana admits truthfully.

"Awww… Ms. Steele can't wait to become Mrs. Grey," Kate teases with a giggle.

"It's true, actually," Again Ana admits, wholeheartedly.

"Good, you're in the right track, Ana. It's perfectly normal to feel bit nervous about the preparations and stuff. My advice to you is to just ride it out and enjoy the moment, that's the most important thing, enjoying every minute of it," Rhian says sincerely, sounding a bit more like her husband.

"Word. As long as you're not having doubts about Mr. Moneybags, you're okay. Any tinges of doubt, then stop and re-consider; other than that, just have fun. Don't overthink things and Rhian is right: enjoy the moment, coz I never did," Kate says, sharp as always.

"Yeah… coz you we're too busy being a bridezilla," Ana retorts deadpan.

"Hmmm… I was, was I?" Kate snorts in agreement. "I wanted everything to be perfect."

"And it was, really perfect and magical, Kate."

"I know; yours will be too, I know it. So stop moping, and definitely stop overthinking. Let moneybags be the groomzila. Let him micromanage everything, except for you, your dress and your girls. Now that you're rejuvenated, it's time for the main event," Kate says, shooting Rhian a wink before rewarding Ana her wicked smile. She is about to ask her best friend what's going on when the rest of the bridal party joins them, with Mia announcing that it's finally time for dinner.

**~oOo~**

"Must I really wear this thing for dinner?" Ana protests. They are in Kate and Elliot's suite; a massive top floor suite situated in one of the resorts buildings. She is rather surprised that her Matron of Honor chose to host the dinner in her suite, rather than in one of the restaurants inside the private resort. What's more surprising is that the boys will not be joining them for dinner, as Elliot has already made plans for them in Christian's villa.

"Yes. Shut up and wear the damn crown, Steele!" Kate insists handing her the fake tiara, the wicked gleam in her eyes hasn't disappeared since they left the spa.

"Don't forget the sash," Mia chimes with a giggle, her soon to be sister-in-law is busy making sure her now wavy hair is perfect, while her sultry make-up is spot on.

"Oh, of course, I almost forgot about that. Good save Mia, here," Kate says, handing her a hot pink sash with the word _Bride-to-be, _written in bold black.

"What are you guys up to?" Ana asks, finally voicing her suspicion.

"You'll see," they both say, giggling like school girls. _Oh dear, _Ana thinks.

"It's not what you think, Steele, so chill. We're keeping things classy and different as we promised," Kate says reassuringly.

"This'll be a fun dinner!" Mia says, unable to keep a straight face.

"I don't know; between the wicked gleam and giggling, something tells me that this is no ordinary dinner," Ana tells them.

"Oh, how right you are, Steele. Come on, let's have a little bachelorette party," Kate says excitedly, opening the door as they lead her towards the living room.

The first thing that Ana notices is the perfectly laid oval table. Arabella, Gwen, Rhian, Maria and Ross are already seated on the table, which is perfectly normal, that is until she gets a look at their identical reactions. All five women look flushed in various shades of red, eyes round as golf balls and all of them are trying not to giggle, on Ros' case, trying not to chortle with laugher. Prying her eyes away from the women and looking around, Ana sees that the table is set in a familiar bachelorette theme; pink and purple balloons the shape of penis, martini glasses, a banner made of what looks like women's underwear glued together, with the words that read, _Ana's last fling before the ring!_ written in bold black letters. _So much for classy and different, _Ana thought, as she gaped at the set-up around her. And then she saw it, the reason behind the flushed, embarrassed and really comical expressions on her friends' faces; a man – a really good-looking and seriously buff man – wearing nothing but a bowtie and a black butler's apron, and balancing a serving tray on one hand, with a single martini glass. She felt her jaw drop and her face turning puce, as she continues to gape at the lone man in the room.

"Ms. Steele," the man smiles politely and then bows, like a true butler; only this one is nearly naked. "My name is Liam, and I will be your butler for tonight," He adds, as he approaches her and proceeds to hand her the martini.

"Thank you," Ana says meekly as she accepts the drink and pries' her eyes away from the butler and his seriously ripped body and stares at her friends, who are in various stages of flushed hysterics.

"It's my pleasure ma'am, you must be hungry, let me lead you to your chair," he says, turning to lead her to her seat, at the head of the table, but in the process, exposing his very naked behind. All her friends laugh-giggle at what must've been a combined dumfounded, sheep-caught-in-the headlights, or maybe a-virgin-seeing-an-almost-naked-guy-for-the-first- time (not that she qualifies – she sees her more gorgeous husband-to-be naked almost every night), reaction on her face, which must've been so damn comical that everyone in the room has no choice but to laugh.

"You didn't think I'd make it that easy, did you? Since you don't like lap dances, I figured I'd just get you a Henry looking butt-ler," Kate whispers, emphasizing the word _butt,_ as she links their arms together and walk towards their respective seats, where the _butt-ler_ named Liam is waiting. _'Explains why your subconscious is still gaping,'_ her inner goddess says mirthlessly. "Hmmm… Liam has nice tush, don't you think?" Kate adds, with a chuckle.

"How did you… does this mean…?" Ana whispers back, finally getting Elliot's words from the day previous, _fine, have it your way, Little Bro; we'll just have to make it less naughty._

"Yep! Elliot got the female version," Kate announces. "No worries though; no lap dances or anything for the guys or I'll kill my husband," she adds dead pan.

"How did you…" Ana says, wincing as she tries to remove the picture of a maid dressed in nothing but an apron, serving her husband to be, out of her head.

"Steele, a bachelor and bachelorette party wouldn't be complete without a little naughty guest. There's a reason why I call Rupert the honorary best man and man of honor," Kate winks wickedly. "He helped me look for a Henry look-a-like butt-ler, to make you blush the whole night and he helped Elliot pick the redhead, the blonde and raven maids to serve the guys food."

"Oh dear, if he finds out—"

"Moneybags will go berserk! Drink your martini, Steele!" Kate says with a cackle and an order, pointing to her cocktail; how she managed to combine the two, Ana didn't know but nevertheless, she complied.

"Yes. Let's hope he doesn't barge in here, any moment now," she says with a wince, after she downs the whole cocktail in one gulp.

"Oh he won't, unless he's superman or something…" says Kate, her eyes glinting with promise.

"Really, what did you guys do? Chain him to his chair or something?" she says incredulously. _Oh dear, fifty won't like it, one bit, _she thinks frantically.

"Something like that," Mia pipes in with a giggle. "Taylor will make sure he behaves, if not, well there's always a tranquilizer."

"Don't worry about moneybags, Steele. Let's enjoy your last two days being single and let's get this party started, shall we?" Kate says boisterously, winking at their butler, Liam, who nods politely.

"Let me get you ladies some champagne," the butler, Liam, says indulgently, turning around to give all of the ladies access, to his bare-naked and seriously buff behind.

* * *

"It's time for the real party, that's what I want, so let's go," Elliot declares briskly, when Christian asks his brother what he wants, after barging into the sitting room of his villa, with the rest of the boys – Ethan, Flynn, Jose, Mac and the Kent fucker, unannounced and effectively interrupting his moment of peace and quiet.

"We've done a day's worth of partying, I think we're done for the day," Christian responds dryly. It's true, he thinks, they cruised around the lake, had lunch at a lakeside restaurant where he and his future wife enjoyed the food, walked around the nearby village, which again, his future wife enjoyed immensely, sailed some more, until they were forcefully separated by his oaf brother and his equally boisterous wife. Katherine took the rest of the ladies to the spa, while Elliot took the guys to a nearby game room, for what he called a little _bro-time, _which he thought to be a complete bore and bailed as soon as he found the opportunity to do so_. _He found himself back in his villa, all by himself, intending to rest and think about nothing but what's going to happen in the next two days, checking and double checking things, until he found himself missing his girl, who's only been out of his sight for a little over an hour. He had to struggle to stop himself from barging into to the spa where she is and kicking everyone out so he could be alone, with her. _Yeah, you got it bad, real bad, Grey._

Desperate not to crash the girl time, and to rein his control in, he found himself playing the piano, playing a new melody that he just found to be rather… interesting. The music is tender, beautiful; the words hit every possible emotion his mood towards the life that he is about to share with the love of his life. At some point, he thought whoever wrote the song must've been someone who's been inside his head so much, that they've decided to put the cluttered sentiments playing inside his head – emotions, he is still trying to name, trying to put into words, into this beautiful piece of music. To say that he really likes the song is a bit of an understatement: he couldn't stop playing it and memorized it in just a few minutes after hearing it for the first time. He is playing the delicate melody expertly, even finding himself singing the lyrics at the top of his lungs – at least in his head, when Elliot and his party finally found him.

"Come on, little bro, you have to give and take, sixty hours till you say good-freaking-bye to your bachelor status and say hello to married life. We're here to make at least three of those hours, fun and rather memorable," Elliot responds, with his own version of eye rolling.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I believe they call it a stag party, mate," the Kent fucker interrupts with an excited smirk.

"Come on little bro, it's just dinner; nothing to worry about. We're keeping it simple for ya," Elliot says reassuringly, almost like a coo, which makes him all the more suspicious. "Don't rain on my parade, Christian, we're doing this. It's my turn to be the best man and I intend to do it, right." His brother adds, unleashing the guilt card, when he doesn't respond.

"If I may, I believe it's part of the tradition. Christian, how bad can it be? We're in a resort, in a remote Italian village and as Elliot here already pointed out, it's just dinner," Dr. Flynn finally interjects. _Fucking Flynn._

"Fine. Dinner where?" he says, surly.

"Here, you have a great villa; almost the size of Bellevue, might as well use the space," Elliot smirks.

"Dinner it is," he says, rolling his eyes and giving up, after his brother tries to imitate Mia's puppy dog expression.

"Excellent! I'll go inform our servers to have the dinner ready and you guys head to the dining room and wait," Rupert announces, exchanging a look with Elliot who smiles broadly at the fucker.

"If you two are serving a bunch of lap dancers, you can fucking forget about it, Elliot," Christian warns.

"What? Do you want my new wife to cut my balls off and skin me alive? Of course not, we're having dinner, little bro, so chill," Elliot retorts smugly, still with that playful glint in his eyes while the other guys merely chuckle and shake their heads. "Come on, we don't want the food to get… cold," he adds with a chortle as he waves the guys to follow him.

"Whatever," Christian says dryly, but nevertheless, follow suit.

The first thing that catches his eye is the banner that reads, _Christian's last stand, _which makes him roll his eyes royally at his brother, who hasn't stopped chortling with laughter. The dining room has been converted to look like a gentlemen's lounge or a bar. How they managed to do that, Christian has no idea, but he knows that that Kent must've had a hand in most, if not all of it. Everything in the once simple, yet elegant room has been transformed to look like a high-end gentlemen's bar. The dining table is filled with nothing but glasses and bottles of wines. They have also managed to put a bar, filled with all kinds of liquor, in the room. He is relieved to find no signs of stripper poles, though knowing his oaf brother, he wouldn't have been surprised. Everyone takes their seats, with Christian at the head of the table, refusing point blank to take humongous chain necklace that says, _Sugar Daddy,_ from none other than the gregarious best man.

"Fine," Elliot finally gives up, eying Rupert from across the table, who nods in understanding.

"Alright, since our stag refuses to acknowledge he's Sugar Daddy of the night, I think it's best to start dinner," Rupert says, excitedly, and from his hand, he produces a bell, rings it three times and waited. Everyone turn to face the double doors separating the kitchen and the formal dining room. The door opens to reveal Taylor walking in along with two other securities Ryan and Sawyer followed by a parade of maids all rolling food carts filled with covered food. All seem ordinary, until of course, one takes a closer look at the servants. The three maids, a strawberry blonde, a redhead and a raven haired, are all wearing nothing but a maid's hat, aprons and sky-high black heels. It pretty obvious that he is not the only one surprised and taken aback by the servants; most of the guys, with the exception of the two oafs, Elliot and Rupert, are all starring pie eyed, as the maids get closer and closer, until they come to a full stop. All Christian can do is glare. Glare at everything, particularly at the two sniggering cohorts, who obviously planned the whole thing.

"What the fuck, Elliot?" Is all Christian says, after taking a few deep, steadying breaths.

"You didn't think I'd make it that easy, did you?" Elliot responds in between sniggers. "Don't worry, little bro, Giuliana, Carolina and Laura are only here to serve dinner. No lap dances or anything, unless of course, you want one or two. Anyways, since you're marrying your first and only girlfriend, we figured we should at least give you a glimpse of other… exotic flavors," Elliot adds with a wink.

"Come on Grey, you can't call it a stag party, without sexy ladies around," Rupert chimes in; wagging his eyebrows playfully at him, and then giving the three maids a wink that makes them giggle.

"Fuck off, Kent! You're dating my sister, don't fucking forget that," he warns steadily, mustering what little control he has left.

"Of course not! Mia and Kate helped us pick the girls," Rupert responds, again with that fucking smirk that is almost always successful in pushing his buttons. _What the fuck?! _Christian thinks, finally getting the reason behind the separation. Katherine has planned the same dinner, but with a half-naked male server….

"Yeah, probably not the best idea to reveal, that the girls are having the same type of dinner, Kent," Elliot grumbles, in a serious, almost scared tone, though his eyes are very much alight with nothing but amusement. The rest of the guys, Ethan, Flynn, Jose and Mac shake their heads back and forth, as if watching a tennis game between all three of them.

"Gentlemen, shall we start dinner?" Flynn finally interrupts; stepping in like a fucking referee, motioning for the girls to start serving them the food and to distract the erratic bachelor; but Christian isn't having it.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Christian says in a deadly calm voice.

"It means, they have a butler, just one, and mind you, he won't touch Annie or Frank'll cut his balls out," Rupert clarifies but again, he's not hearing any of it. Instead, he begins to stand and leave but Elliot, who is sitting beside him, stops him by holding onto his arm.

"Taylor will stop you if you try to leave. Frank's men won't let you in, if try to disturb the girls. That is, if you find them, it's a big resort," Elliot says with caution, his tone serious. "Yeah, we prepared and begged Taylor and Frank for this. Come on Christian, don't be a jerk, it's just dinner for crying out loud. Two fucking hours, can't you give me that? This shit is for you and Ana. If you don't want this, then look at it this way: this is payback for ruining my bachelor party a few months ago by dragging the party to Paris, just to make sure that, that Carlisle fucker didn't touch Ana again," Elliot adds, not laughing and shamelessly pulling the guilt card, expertly, for the second time.

Christian doesn't say anything; he merely glares at his brother who doesn't cower at his infamous _death glare. _He is torn between leaving and humoring his brother; who obviously put a lot of thought into planning this shit he calls a bachelor party. He doesn't care what people think about him, all he cares about is Ana and his family; about not hurting them or doing anything to disappoint them. And with Elliot being family, he obviously falls into the fucking category. Elliot has always stood by him, gamely taking his shit with enthusiasm and humor, not asking for anything in return, until tonight. _Fuck, _he thought, shoving his hand over his hair as he looked around the room, all eyes weary and looking anywhere at him.

"Come on, Christian, just this once. It's just dinner, how bad can it be?"Flynn says, encouragingly, obviously sensing his dilemma.

He takes a deep breath, curses some more and says, "two hours. If they touch me, I'm gone."

* * *

"He looks hotter with some clothes on," Maria says with a chuckle, after the buttler named, Liam, has packed up, put some clothes on and bid them all farewell.

"Yeah, he looks alright. I bet he's going commando under those pants," Kate says with casual nonchalance, making them all laugh. It's way past the four course dinner, followed by the various games, ranging from charade, to a game they called _take-your-cherry-back_, to a blindfolded game where you kiss a poster of a naked guy, preferably on the nether part, all organized by Kate. It was all fun and hilarious; Ana didn't remember having so much fun, she even manages to forget about a certain overprotective _fifty _and expecting him to turn up at any moment to stop the festivities. Almost. Whatever Elliot and the guys did to stop him, it must have been something really drastic, she thought morbidly.

"You okay, Steele?" Kate asks from across the table. They are all in the sitting room, chatting and drinking since their butler left and some of the girls left and called it a night.

"I'm good. That was fun; thank you guys," she beams at all of them.

"Thank you Kate and Mia," everyone else say.

"I must say, that's one different bachelorette party," says Gwen with a wink.

"Glad you guys enjoyed it," Kate says proudly, raising her almost empty flute, in the air.

"I'm just curious, where are the parents?" Ross asks, half yawning and half leaning to her partner, Gwen.

"Oh, the oldies are in the main Villa by the spa. They took over the spa when we left. The called it a night, after a few games in the game room," Mia says shrilly, sipping the last remaining contents of her champagne. "Oh, we have a ton of stuff to do tomorrow; I think it's time for us girls to call it a night. Ana, beauty rest for you and don't be surprised if my brother pays you a visit. Elliot may have stopped him from ruining everything, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten about it," she adds with a snort.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he's already lurking outside by now," Kate chimes in, rolling her eyes.

"Or maybe he got over it," Ana replies, defending her beloved fifty.

"Either way you need your beauty rest," Mia replies. "Let's go, I'll walk with you and Frank."

After saying their thank you and greeting each other good night, she and Frank, walk the rather buzzed Mia to her suite, two floors down from Kate's. They walk back to her villa, which is located on the farthest, most private part of the resort, with unobstructed views of the beautiful lake. Again, she is struck by the beauty surrounding her, as she walks leisurely, and thankfully, a little less buzzed from all the champagne and martini's, that have been given to her, throughout the course of the dinner party. She smiles remembering the fun and very memorable night with her girlfriends. Priceless moments, she thought, remembering the games and the laughter.

She wasn't surprised to find all the lights on her villa open as she and Frank approach, she knows her fifty all too well, and that her would never miss the opportunity to kiss her goodnight, _'or more,'_ her inner goddess says excitedly, while her subconscious merely grumbles, already asleep. She find him in the living room, not pacing as she expected, but merely sitting and staring intently at his laptop, working. She almost rolls her eyes. Almost. She stares at her man for a moment, forgetting the slightly cold breeze, as she watches her man from the threshold of her magnificent villa, _'drunken lovesick puppy,'_ her subconscious mutters in her sleep.

"Like what you see?" she hears him say, lazy gray eyes piercing on her drunken stupor.

"Always. What are you doing here?" She retorts, smiling and drinking him in and again, forgetting the fact that it's really cold from where she's been standing.

"Waiting for you, obviously," he replies, putting the laptop on the coffee table as he stands and walk towards her. "Plus, Elliot decided to sleep on one of the couch so I figured… I should check on my wife, make sure she's not drunk," he says, smiling indulgently and extending a hand for her to take.

"Future wife. And for the record: future wife isn't drunk," she corrects him, taking his hand and yelping as he pulls her towards him.

"Wife, in two days," he whispers, nipping her ear, making her gasp.

"Hmmm… whatever you say, Mr. Grey," she giggles.

"Now is not the right time for giggling, wife," he says in faux disapproval.

"Oh? I thought you liked my giggle?" she replies innocently.

"I love it, actually, but now is not the right time."

"Really, what time is it?" she retorts, batting her lashes.

He holds her even closer, nuzzles her neck and whispers, "Oh, I think you know, Ms. Steele."

* * *

_**Reviews are highly appreciated.**_

To see my stories through pictures, please find me in pinterest. Details are in my author page. Thanks for reading and again, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it.


	4. Bliss

**Missy's Notes: **Thanks for all the love for all my stories! I appreciate all the love you guys give to the finale of the prequel. As promised, I will be focusing my energy to the fluffy sequel.Sorry for the delay! I'm blaming the usual, work and real life and the fact that I'm being tad anal (no pun intended) about this chapter. Feel free to call me a wanna-be _writerzilla. _Anyway, please forgive my errors and I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.

**E L James owns this amazing trilogy**

**Chapter 4: Bliss**

Christian wakes up with a smile. His smile grew even bigger as his eyes rest to the beautiful view; the sight of his wife _– future wife –_ well, wife nonetheless, getting ready to take a shower, wearing nothing but a skimpy pink silk robe. He lay in the bed, still with the goofy smile, watching her lazily move around the opulent bathroom, brushing her teeth while preparing what she will wear for the day. Their schedule for the day and the next day after made him smile even more and hum in excitement and utter content. _Yes, _he ponders, a night spent making love after the annoying parties thrown by their best man and matron of honor, waking up at the sight of his wife, walking around the bathroom, barely naked, preparing for the day's activity which includes the rehearsal dinner, and the sight of his wife now naked and entering the shower, yes, it's a beautiful day indeed. He is the world's luckiest son of a bitch that much he knows. _So don't you dare fuck it up, Grey._

Groaning and unable to resist the idea of joining and maybe starting the day making love with his wife, he disentangles himself from the sheets to join her. Again, he can't help but smile. Smile at the fact that in less than thirty or so hours, Anastasia Rose Steele will become Mrs. Anastasia Rose Grey, his wife and that she will be _his_ every day, for the rest of their days. Another fact is that he is about to start the day holding the love of his life and making love in the shower. The thought of holding her wet, naked body made him all the more excited. It took him only ten strides to reach the bathroom hurriedly get rid of his boxers, opens the shower door and finally joins his oblivious wife.

"Hmmm good morning, Mr. Grey," she says, when his hands snakes their way into her waist.

"Good morning, Mrs. Grey," he replies, nuzzling and nipping her neck, while his good morning erection also greeting her.

"A little excited, Mr. Grey?" She giggles, as she turns around to face him. Her hands rested on his neck and she reaches out to kiss him, affectionately. They kiss. And like every time their lips meet, a simple kiss turns into something more; it's passionate, profound and all consuming. His hands instinctively tightens but then loosens, only snake their way to her behind, fondling fervently until they are both moaning in pleasure.

"Didn't you get enough last night?" she says, breathlessly, when he starts trailing kisses on her neck, nuzzling, kissing and nipping her flushed skin.

"Baby, I'll never get enough of you," he responds, affectionately, albeit distractedly, as he continuous to kiss every inch of her skin, pausing only to admire his next destination: her tout, wet breasts.

"I'm a lucky son of a bitch," he whispers, contentedly with a smile, before going for the kill. He nuzzles the space between her breasts, tonguing and kissing, until he move on to latch his lips into one of her nipples, greedily sucking and biting, and providing equal attention by alternating between one and the other, making her whimper in sheer pleasure. One hand instinctively reaches to caress the most sensitive part down south, in between her thighs, quite possibly his favorite place in the world, making both of them frenzy.

"Oh God," Ana cries, her hands on his hair as if her life depended in it. He looks up to see her beautiful face. Head arched facing the ceiling, away from the water, falling like rain. Her eyes closed as if fighting and absorbing the pleasure, all in the same time and her teeth clamped onto her delicious bottom lip.

"God, you're beautiful," he says, in awe, stopping his ministrations, he cups her face and again he kisses her passionately.

"Please, Christian," she murmurs, breathlessly, in between kisses.

Without a word, without taking his lips of hers, he grasps her behind, one cheek for each hand, instinctively, he leads her to the nearest wall and slowly, he slides into her. They both groan in each other's mouth. The most exquisite feeling, his favorite place in the world is inside her. It's an overwhelming feeling of pure bliss, nothing but utter perfection. And he will never grow tired of it. Ever.

"So beautiful," he hears himself say once again. He grasps her head and kisses her hard, as he starts to move, each trust more powerful that the other, as if life depended on it.

"That's it baby," he whispers, breathlessly, his thrust unyielding, never stopping until she stiffens around him. "Come for me."

"Oh God!" she cries out, incoherently. She is consumed by her ecstasy, her head falling back, mouth open, eyes closed and her breathing ragged. The sight of her was all consuming, enough take him to edge and soon, he follows, exploding into her.

**~oOo~**

"I know that look and I definitely recognize that smell," Rupert teases, when the fucker, his cheerful sister, Mia, a still-groggy looking Elliot and a sleepy or rather, grumpy looking, Katherine, joins them for brunch at Ana's villa, ruining the post coital mood and effectively kick-starting the day.

"Shut up, cow!" says, Ana, rolling her eyes and throwing an apple at her friend and business partner, who deftly catches it with a laugh.

"Shutting," the fucker acquiesces. "I don't want your husband _to-be_ kicking my ass into kibbles. Am I right, Grey?"

His answering glare was enough to earn a smirk from the said fucker, a laugh from his supposedly groggy brother, eye rolling from Mia and Katherine, while his wife simply squeezes his hand and shakes her head as if to say, _ignore him_. He did.

"Me and Kate will sleep with Ana tonight, and you do well to remember not to sneak in, Christian," warns Mia, ignoring the jabber, as she and everyone else take their seats.

"He can try," says Elliot with a snort. "Frank and Taylor will make sure he doesn't sneak in."

"Fuck off, Elliot!" he responds, dryly.

"I'm serious, Christian, its tradition," says Mia, in her best reprimanding tone. "Mom will remind you later, you'll see."

"What's the itinerary today?" his wife asks, innocently. Everyone who knows her well can easily recognize that this is a diversion. Normally, he would shake his head or snort; but this time, he is grateful, for he doesn't know how the fuck is he going to spend the night on an empty bed, without the love of his life with him.

"Yeah; Aside from the rehearsal dinner later, and then the wedding tomorrow what else is on the agenda today?" Rupert asks sarcastically. He is without a doubt, one of those who know his fiancé well enough to recognize her great 'diversion tactics.'

"After brunch, you guys should head back to your villas, relax, or whatever you feel like doing and then get ready for the rehearsal this afternoon," Mia starts bossily. "The bride and matron of honor will start preparing for tomorrow, that means you're officially off limits, Christian, coz you're not supposed to see Ana's wedding dress. Trust me, ladies, you won't have time tonight with the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner," she adds when Ana and Katherine start to protest. "I'll give you guys a rundown, though Kate is probably familiar with it. Anyways, I'll be in and out coz I'm helping mom supervise the whole décor," Mia finally finishes excitedly.

"I owe you a lot, Mia, thank you," his wife says, appreciatively.

"Oh no worries, Ana, it's my wedding gift to you two," Mia chirps, waving her hand dismissively. "Now hurry up, coz your parents are scheduled to arrive anytime now."

* * *

Anastasia is thankful that their wedding is a simple _family-and-closest-friend's-only_ affair. It's simple, elegant and intimate with only their families and those who witnessed their relationship blossom in attendance. She is more thankful at the fact that the aisle is not as long as the one her best friend and matron of honor, Kate, had to walk to, on her wedding. Kate's wedding was held on a cathedral like tent at the Bellevue manor with a mile long aisle. Normally she wouldn't mind, in fact she admired it, but as the maid of honor, she too had to walk down the long aisle and watch as people stare at her working to keep her balance and not trip, and avoid the embarrassment, with everyone including her then boyfriend – _hot _boyfriend – watching her every move. Ana smiles, thinking about that day, especially that night all too clearly – the night when he proposed. It was the most romantic proposal, _ever_. Her inner goddess and subconscious both sigh dramatically.

"I'm so happy for you, sweetheart," Carla exclaims, while they wait at the area directed by the wedding coordinator. Her parents, Carla, her husband bob and Ray arrived just before noon, coming from her vacation home in Cannes. For security and privacy purposes, _'don't forget the fact that he negotiated to plan the whole shindig,' _her subconscious reminds her, she had to say goodbye to her dream hilltop wedding at her hilltop property in Cannes. Instead, they are in a beautiful private resort in the northern part of Italy, bordering Switzerland. She nearly flipped when her _husband-to-be_ told her that he wanted or rather – already picked the place, but when he said that it's because of the view, the privacy and the fact that it is a neutral place for both of them to create more new memories, she conceded. To say that they are surrounded by a breathtaking view is quite a bit of an understatement.

"Thanks Mom," Ana smiles indulgently. "I'm glad you guys are here," she adds, turning to the man who raised her as his own daughter, Ray, who simply shrugs.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Ana," Ray responds gruffly.

"Ray is right sweetheart, we wouldn't miss this for the world," Carla repeats, smiling happily.

"Places everyone!" Mia calls, cheerfully. "Carla, please join my parents and Bob," she adds, summoning Carla who giggles, kisses her daughter and walks hurriedly to her seat.

There are approximately 15 chairs on each side to accommodate all their guests, all of them already seated. There's a string quartet, ready and waiting on the far left side of the beautiful make-shift altar where the Reverend stood, also waiting. The make shift altar is standing at the edge of the aisle and under an Ancient Italian gazebo; the altar is made out of an equally ornate vintage table with two matching chairs. Behind the gazebo is nothing but the remarkable mid-afternoon view of the Italian lake and the mountains.

"Great! Let's start!" Mia announces. After talking the groom and his best man, Elliot, the youngest Grey hurriedly walk towards where the small wedding party stood waiting, out of everyone's sight.

She had a very small entourage; Rupert serves as a groomsman with the lone bridesmaid/wedding coordinator, Mia. Of course, Kate is the matron of honor and then her, accompanied by her dad, Ray. After a quick briefing, mainly the phase of the march, Mia signaled for the quartet to start. And so it begins, Pachelbel's canon in D starts playing; twenty seconds later, Mia and Rupert begin to march in slow yet graceful precision, followed by Kate until finally, a few deep breathes and self-reminders that this is just the rehearsal later, Ray takes her hand, kisses it and then clasps it tightly under his arm as the father leads the daughter downs the aisle, towards the waiting groom.

She tried not to look at the small crowd; consciously she is already blushing, though she knows it's not the big day, yet. But already she felt a mixture of love, wariness, excitement, pure happiness, and impatient all at the same time. It's a heady feeling, but somehow, it all turn into nothing but calm – well, and a bit emotional – when their eyes meet. She can't look away and neither does he; it felt like it's just the two of them. She smiled and she is rewarded with her favorite shy-yet-dazzling-patented-Christian-Grey smile and soon the short walk ends with her daddy taking her hand and gives it to his waiting hand...

"You're not supposed to kiss Ana, Christian!" Mia thunders, much to everyone's, particularly Elliot's, amusement. She blushes deep red, Christian simply rolls his eyes, but nevertheless they both laugh as they both realize their mistake.

"I guess I'm not the only one!" Elliot chortles.

"Let's start from the top," Mia says sullenly.

**~oOo~**

"I can't wait for tomorrow," Christian whispers, as the reach the pathway that separates his villa to hers. After a rather comical, but nonetheless, successful wedding rehearsal, filled with laughter (mainly because of Elliot) and a bit of eye-rolling (Kate's never ending warning to her husband to be) and happy moments shared with their guests, they called the night so everyone can relax in preparation of the tomorrow's big day. Ana doesn't like this part of the night any more than he does, as she is so used to having him around, but the 'oldies' as Mia likes to call them, as well as Kate, insists that they follow tradition and tradition dictates that the bride and groom are not supposed to spend the night before their wedding together.

"I'll say. Now go before Mia and Kate decide to throttle you," she responds, eyeing Mia and Kate who are both impatiently tapping their heels.

Christian rolls his eyes. "They can try," he snorts and rolls his eyes.

"Come on little bro, it's just one night!" Elliot calls exuberantly. "I can be your teddy bear tonight if you want to," he chuckles.

"Ew!" says both Mia and Kate, simultaneously.

"Come on, Steele!" Kate shouts. "Beauty rest, chop! Chop!"

Christian purses his lips and glares. She shrugs and cups her husband-to-be's face affectionately. "See you tomorrow?"

"Of course. Sleep well, baby, I love you."

* * *

"Christ! What time is it?" Christian bellows, running his hand over his hair, as he phases around the room. They are in his villa, waiting for time; waiting for the wedding coordinator or Taylor or whoever to walk in and tell them - tell him that it's _fucking _time.

"Hmmm I now know what'll happen to my little bro, if he doesn't see Ana within a twenty-four hour span," Elliot observes, his face full of mirth.

"Yeah, I second that… if he looks like a cranky old wanker without the hag for twelve hours, then I wonder how he survived during their separation," Rupert chimes in innocently.

"He acted like a total cranky old… what is that?" Elliot chuckles.

"What? Wanker?" Rupert asks.

"Yeah that, a wanker, whatever that means," Elliot laughs. "Bro, a few more minutes, so please stop acting like a cranky old wanker!" he adds, with a booming laugh.

"Fuck off, Elliot!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Elliot responds, dismissively. "I'll get you something to calm your nerves," he adds, leaving him with the Kent fucker alone in the sitting room. Rupert looking thoughtful; something he thinks that it's a bit out of character.

"Stop looking at me like that, Kent," he says, already guessing what he is about to say. Ana had form a bond with the fucker during their separation and stay in London.

"Like what?"

"Like you're about to fucking tell me, _not _to fuck this up, because trust me, I know," he says, dryly.

"Good. Make her happy, because she deserves it," Rupert concedes. "I don't _ever_ want to see her miserable and unhappy, Grey. Annie never told me the whole story, all I know is that she loved someone back home; loved him with everything she has, but that someone turned her away and hurt her enough to run away with a promise of not returning."

"Get to the point, Kent."

"The point is, you already know, Grey, make her happy and don't you fuck it up like last time. This isn't a reminder, it's a warning, and I'm glad you know and that you understand."

"She is everything to me," he says simply.

"Good, we're in agreement then. I'll skin you alive and break your bones, help Frank, Kate, Ray and everyone who loves Annie dispose of your body, if you mess this up," he says coolly, he is about to say some more but he gets distracted by his phone ringing. Instead of excusing himself, he answers it in front of him. Christian only stared at him impassively, impressed by the fuckers valiant effort to protect the one person that is the reason why they are in the same room; the one person keeping him from beating the shit out of suck an annoying fucker.

"Right," says the annoying fucker, cheerfully, his thoughtful mood morphing to that of his usual annoying self. "That was Mia, apparently her assistant wedding coordinator got tied with a more pressing matter, that she didn't have enough time to run here to tell us, so she called me to tell you and Elliot that, _'it's time,'_" he smirks.

"About fucking time," he responds, cannoning out of the room and ignoring the fucker's laughter.

**~oOo~**

_This is it, Grey,_ Christian told himself, as he stood at the end of the aisle, with Elliot by his side, as they wait for the small entourage to arrive. He reminded himself to thank both his little sister and his mother, for the umpteenth time, for wonderfully planning this day, and for expertly combining his and Ana's preference to life. White chairs that seats all their guests, beautiful view of the lake on a beautiful spring afternoon, they are surrounded by white and cream flower arrangements and hurricane candles in various shapes and sizes in the pathway towards the aisle - just like the arrangement that greeted her beautiful Ana the night he proposed, only this time, instead of just the two of them, they are surrounded by their family and closest friends who are all seated into position, to bear witness to their union. He takes a deeps breath, stare at the watch that she gifted to him for a moment, and then focuses all his attention towards the pathway where she would emerge, any moment now.

He takes another deep calming breath, when the string quartet starts to play Pachelbel's Canon and soon, Rupert Kent and his sister, Mia comes into view. Kent is wearing his tux while his sister is wearing a baby pink dress. They both smile as they approach, with Mia winking at him excitedly, as they finally pause and take their places, with Rupert standing beside Elliot, while Mia, stands on the other side of the altar. Katherine follows behind them, walking – more like strutting – alone as the matron of honor, wearing a dress similar to Mia's only longer. She smiles at everyone, including him, which is a rarity, the thought made him want to snort. Almost. She did not leer or roll her eyes at him as she approaches the aisle and stands beside Mia.

The first sight of her took his breath away and time simply freezes the moment she comes into view. He couldn't see anyone; his attention riveted only on hers. She's wearing a flowing white dress with lace details, an elegant neckline and a plain white satin belt that clinches and showcases her tiny waistline. The thin veil is barely hiding her beautiful face; her hair in a simple chignon, her blue eyes glowing and her cheeks rosy, no doubt embarrassed from the attention. She is simply beautiful and radiant; a vision. The word beautiful is not enough to describe her. He smiles in utter happiness, bliss, excitement and impatience when their eyes meet. Clear blue eyes to stormy and rather blurry gray. He blinks and he realizes that he had tears; happy tears, he realize. _Yet another first, Grey. _It took all his willpower not to walk down the aisle and grab his bride out of her father's grasp. But he waited, with all the patience he can muster, morbidly thankful that his bride wanted a short aisle, until Ray kisses her hand and chic, and officially places her hand into his, where it will stay – for the rest of their days. The ever present connection ignites the moment their hands meet; only this time, _that _electricity is on fire.

The ceremony was long… at least for him. It took all his self-control not to ask Reverend Walsh to hurry up with their vows and make it official. Their vows were heartfelt, true and utterly emotional. Her sacred promise is to love him unconditionally; to be a faithful partner in sickness and in health; to stand beside him in good times and in bad; to share his joy as well as his sorrow; to share his hopes and dreams, to honor and respect, to laugh and to cry; to bring him solace in times of need and to love and cherish him, unconditionally, for as long as they both shall live*. His vision begins to blur as he listens to her wedding vows but he quickly recovers to read his own vows.

_I solemnly vow that I will safeguard and hold dear and deep in my heart our union and you. I promise to love you faithfully, forsaking all others, through good times and the bad, in sickness or in health, regardless of where life takes us. I will protect you, trust you, and respect you. I will share your joys and sorrows and comfort you in times of need. I promise to cherish you and uphold your hopes and dreams and keep you safe at my side. All that is mine is now yours. I give you hand, my heart and love from this moment on for as long as we both shall live.**_

They beam at each other when the reverend finally and officially announces them husband and wife. To him, it's like a combination of his dreams finally coming true, like everything fell into its rightful position and the overwhelming feeling of being loved. He felt complete, happy – blissfully happy. The overwhelming feeling almost makes his vision blurry, yet again. _Almost. _

"… You may _finally _kiss your Ana, Mr. Grey," Reverend Walsh says, correctly reading his thoughts. All he wanted to do, before and during the ceremony is to take the veil obscuring his bride's beautiful face, pull her in his arms to kiss her and then whisk her away.

Again, they beam at each other. He let go of her hand and slowly, he takes the veil of, finally ridding the mesh covering her breathtakingly beautiful face, smiling happily – blissfully happy, lovingly, at him. His breath hitches at the sight and emotions once again threaten to burst, but he stubbornly rules them in, pulls his bride into his arms and kisses her, chastely on the lips, morbidly aware of the applause and hoots from their family and friends.

**~oOo~**

The wedding party is in full swing. Grace and Mia have gone all out. The set up a beautiful reception at the resort's anfiteatro room, masterfully decorated with white, cream and pink flower arrangements and various shapes and sizes of hurricane lights, continuing the same theme he used when he proposed. The tables are arranged around the dance floor, and all facing the unobstructed view of the lake at twilight, it is quite possibly one of the impressive views Christian has ever seen, impressive but nothing comparing to the sight of his wife. He smiles. They've been formally introduced as Mr. & Mrs. Grey, listened to the ceremonial toasts, cut the cake and now they dance their first dance.

_What would I do without your smart mouth?_

_Drawing me in, and you kicking me out;_

_I got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down…_

"Did I tell you, you look so beautiful, Mrs. Grey?" A euphoric Christian whispers. The string quartet masterfully plays the song that had been stuck in his head the moment he first heard of it.

_… I'm on your magical mystery ride,_

_And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright…_

"Countless times, in the past hour, Mr. Grey, so do you," she winks, playfully.

"Good. Did I tell you how much I love you and that you've made me the happiest man today?"

_… My head's under water, But I'm breathing fine;_

_You're crazy and I'm out of my mind…_

"That too," again she giggles. Glass bells once again erupt around them, again they smile and they kiss chastely, but yelps when he dips her, theatrically, much to everyone's delight. "And I love you too, Christian, and this too is the happiest day of my life."

_… 'Cause all of me; loves all of you,_

_Love your curves and all your edges,_

_All your perfect imperfections,_

_Give your all to me; I'll give my all to you,_

_You're my end and my beginning, _

_Even when I lose, I'm winning,_

_'Cause I give you all, all of me,_

_And you give me all, all of you… _

"The song is beautiful; such a lovely melody," she observes as they continue to dance.

"I couldn't agree more, Mrs. Grey," he says, holding her close.

"Hmmm…" she says, her eyes closing and her head bending on his chest. He held her close and dance their intimate dance until the string quartet finish the final note and morph to a new song.

"Happy?" He asks.

"Hmmm very, you?" she sighs, contentedly.

"Ditto. But I think I shared you long enough, Mrs. Grey, it's time," he smirks.

"Time? Time for what?"

"It's time to go," he whispers excitedly.

* * *

The asterisks (* & **) are reference from the original books. I decided to use their original vows from the books as I think they're wonderfully written. Again, I'm sorry and forgive me for the errors, I do hope you enjoyed it. To see my stories in pictures, please look me up in Pinterest. Details are in my author page. The song is John Legend's 'All of me.'


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